


Roses and Cream

by Auggusst



Series: The Soldier And The Scientist [53]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers Family Dinner, Banter, Bets, Firefighters, Flirting, Fluff, Funny, Instagram, M/M, Roses, Snarky Tony Stark, Social Media, Tired Steve Rogers, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Fluff, bath bombs, old married couple vibes, post Endgame, saving citizens, team dinner, tony and bucky are a menace when together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-15
Updated: 2020-02-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:20:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22740880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Auggusst/pseuds/Auggusst
Summary: It's a few days before Valentine's Day and the bouquet of flowers Steve bought for his husband barely made it home in one piece.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Series: The Soldier And The Scientist [53]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/468745
Comments: 10
Kudos: 143





	Roses and Cream

**Author's Note:**

> Just something short and cute I wrote in between work shifts! Hopefully starting another fic soon. I'm really busy nowadays!

“You’ve got to take it easy,” Tony said.

Steve snorted, sat down to take off his shoes. “That’s rich, coming from you.”

“I’m serious. Just because you got lucky half a million times over the years doesn’t mean you’re invincible.”

Steve sighed, looking over at his husband. He opened his mouth to say something, but Tony gave him a knowing look. The blond closed his mouth again. When he looked down, a little bit sprinkle of rubble fell out of his hair and onto the hardwood floor.

Tony sat down next to him, placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. He ignored how dirty it was. “Look, after all this time, I don’t wanna tell you how to do your job, but baby, I’d rather not spend the rest of my life in this big empty house alone.”

The blond considered that. Tony was right, of course, to be concerned. He usually was.

While out shopping for the weekly team dinner, Steve and Sam dealt with a collapsing building in the middle of town. A fire started in the back room, an old furnace from what he understood, and it didn’t take long for the fire to spread. They were unprepared; it was a day off, really, so neither Sam nor Steve had any proper gear, but they couldn’t sit by and do nothing. They sprung into action, rescuing civilians, helping local firefighters, and somehow managing to keep their groceries intact. Well, most of them. It was quite a spectacle for the general public, especially when it came to the finale, which featured Steve jumping down eight stories without his shield or armor in order to save a puppy.

Tony caught sight of that on the news. He was equal parts furious and impressed. He didn’t think it’d be appropriate for Iron Man to fly out just to chastise his husband though, so he waited for Steve to come home, tried to forget about the way Steve grit his teeth in pain and rolled his shoulders in the footage after handing the puppy over to its owners. Tony could’ve gone his whole life without seeing that. (Luckily for him, he’d never seen the footage of Steve jumping out of the elevator at SHIELD HQ. Steve had never mentioned it to him either.) By the time Steve got home though, he’d recovered from a mini heart attack and was instead feeling grateful and exhausted. Worrying tended to do that. He was just happy to see Steve home though, the groceries be damned.

“I’m sorry,” Steve said, setting a hand on top of Tony’s. “It was a spur of the moment thing.”

Tony nodded, looked over his husband’s face. Steve looked a little tired, which was understandable. “I could have you promise never to do it again, but we both know you couldn’t keep that promise. Neither could I, honestly.”

Steve smiled a little at that. “Yeah,” he said sheepishly. He glanced back at the groceries a little distance away. One of the reusable bags was singed.

Tony’s eyes locked onto the same target. He squinted at it, then back at Steve. “Is there something in the bag I should know about?” There was quiet suspicion in his tone.

The soldier sighed, and his shoulders dropped a little further, like he’d been caught. He leaned over, tugged the bag closer. “It was just a little…I was getting a head start on Valentine’s Day. I know it’s a few days from now, but I wanted to get you something already. Your flowers got kinda…” he pulled out a bouquet of burned roses from the bag, winced a little at the state of them. They were practically crispy, like leaves in the fall. “Ruined.”

Tony blinked, looked down at the sorry excuse for a bouquet. The flowers were gorgeous, he was sure, a little while ago, but now they looked like a big mess. It reminded him of when he accidentally ruined the waffle maker a few months ago trying to cook at 2am.

The scientist found himself momentarily stunned, and then couldn’t help but let out a laugh. “Oh my god,” he wheezed. He took the burned flowers from Steve’s hands, inspected them and shook his head. “You’re ridiculous,” he said.

Steve rolled his eyes and frowned a little. “Look, it’s not my fault! Blame the building. Or better yet, blame Sam. If we’d have gone a different way maybe we wouldn’t have run into the emergency.”

Tony leaned over, pressed a kiss to the blond’s dirty cheek. “Don’t apologize. This is hilarious, and so unbelievably ‘you.’ You know I have to put this on social media, right? ‘These are the kinds of gifts Captain America gives his man.’”

“Come on, don’t tease.”

“I’m legally allowed to tease.”

“Oh, was that in the marriage documents I signed?”

“Yup,” the brunet said, dusting off Steve’s shoulder. “You should’ve read the fine print.”

“I really should’ve. Is it too late to back out now?”

Tony swung the brittle flowers in his direction. “Rude! Further note to social media: ‘Captain America likes to emotionally manipulate his husband.’”

Steve rolled his eyes playfully. “Right. Because I’m the only one who ever does that.”

“That’s beside the point.”

“And what is the point?” the soldier asked. He slipped a hand around Tony’s waist.

“The point is,” Tony began, “that you’re getting ash all over my comfy t-shirt.” He playfully wriggled out of Steve’s grasp.

“Oh come on, sweetheart,” Steve protested, pulling Tony back by the wrist. “What do you mean you don’t like getting all dirty?”

Tony couldn’t help but let out a laugh. “I love getting dirty, but ash is awful. I’d rather be covered in your c—“

“ _That’s_ enough of that.”

“How is it you can say the dirtiest things in bed, but outside of our bedroom you’re as shy as a school girl?”

“It’s not being shy, Tony, it’s being appropriate.”

“It’s only us here, Steve.”

“Regardless. The standard still stands.”

Tony looked at him for a moment, took in the seriousness in his eyes. The scientist shook his head, smiled a little. He stood up, and sighed. “I can’t believe you sometimes.”

“The feeling’s mutual, trust me,” Steve replied, standing up himself.

“Well, I think you and your hero complex should get nice and clean before family dinner tonight. I’ll go fix you a bath.”

“Thanks,” the blond said. He leaned over and gave Tony a quick kiss. They’d shared so many over the years, far too many to count, but each one still made warmth bloom in his chest.

Tony beamed up at him for a moment, and then turned to leave. “I’m keeping these, by the way,” he said, shaking the ruined bouquet in his hand.

Steve brushed a hand over his face and shook his head in embarrassment. “What the hell for?”

Tony was in the kitchen by now, picking out a vase for the flowers. “Centerpiece! You know Bucky’s gonna _love_ this.”

“You’re not gonna let this go, are you?” Steve called.

“Never!”

That was okay. As embarrassing as it was, Steve was glad to be home. He could admit that he’d taken a big risk today, and although that wasn’t out of the ordinary, he preferred keeping risks like that to a minimum these days. He still wanted more hours, more days and years with Tony, and although he’d never stop helping people, he thought he deserved to be a little more selfish about it now.

Steve looked around his home, at the familiar walls and furniture, and the little photos or objects they’d collected over the last year, and felt a surge of relief. He picked up the grocery bags, set them down on the counter in the kitchen, and went to find Tony in the master bathroom. His shoulder was aching, and a relaxing bath would be just the thing to make him feel better.

When he got to the bathroom, Tony was leaning over their massive tub, checking the temperature of the water. The bubbles were already forming, and the wonderful smell told Steve that Tony had put in a bath bomb. He looked so endearing there, with ash stains on his white t-shirt from Steve’s fingerprints, and a little smear of it on his cheek.

Steve crossed his arms and leaned on the doorway, just watching for a moment. But Tony knew his husband well enough to feel his eyes on him, and he turned, raised a brow at the blond and smiled.

“What?”

Steve shook his head. “Nothing. I just like looking at you.”

The scientist’s grin only widened. “Well thank goodness for that. Now strip, soldier. By the time you’re cleaned up I’ll have thought of ten different ways to make fun of you at dinner.”

“You’re insufferable.” Steve tugged his shirt over his head.

“That’s me: The Insufferable Iron Man.”

“And people wonder why I keep you and Bucky separated all the time. They think it’s because of, you know, _that_ whole mess, but no. You’re just two asshole-shaped peas in a pod, aren’t you?”

“Ouch. You’re really gonna talk to the person who pays the bills like that? I should’ve given you the crappy bath bomb. You know, the one that smells like a grandma’s perfume. It’d certainly be age appropriate.”

“Here’s my next social media post: ‘Tony Stark bullies senior citizens.’”

“Mm, I think mine will get more likes.”

“Wanna bet?”

Tony squinted at him, put a hand on his hip. “You’re on.”

“What are you betting?” Steve asked, shoulders squared.

“You win, I’ll go two months without Burger King.”

“Fair.”

“I win….and…”

The pause made Steve regret the challenge for a moment. He wasn’t sure what sort of punishment Tony would think up. Luckily, his husband took it easy on him. Well, not _too_ easy, but not entirely damaging.

“You have to take a picture in booty shorts that say ‘Are Ya An Avenger?’ and I’m putting it on my Insta.”

Steve shook his head in disbelief, a mixture of amusement and disgust on his face. “Oh god, Tony.”

The brunet held up his hands defensively. “Hey, you’re the one who wanted to make a bet!”

“Right. Okay, okay, bet accepted. Now get moving, before I take my ash-ridden self and lay all over your designer sheets.” Steve unbuttoned his jeans.

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Wanna bet?” the blond asked, stopping in the middle of pulling his pants down.

Tony glared at him a little, rolled his eyes. “I can’t believe I married you.”

“Too late to back out now, Stark.”

“You’re right. Unless I rebuild the time machine.” The scientist smirked a little.

It was the soldier’s turn to roll his eyes. “Let’s not open that can of worms again. Now I’m serious. I’m taking my bath.”

“I’ll leave you to it, Captain,” his husband replied, and left the bathroom. Both were privately smiling.

That night at team dinner, the photo of the ruined bouquet of flowers on the middle of the dinner table got over a million likes on Instagram, and at least two Youtube videos talking about it. It beat Steve’s tweet by five hundred.

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know your thoughts! I hope you enjoyed this fic <3 Leave a comment!


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